Unless you’re “The Rock” or one of the other few studly celebrities that can “rock” the no hair look, most people view balding men as older and less good-looking, according to a recent study.

The survey involved 122 adults, ages 18-52, who were asked to look at side by side photos of 13 men. All of the men in the photos were experiencing age-related male pattern baldness but 7 had received hair transplant surgery to restore fullness while the remaining 6 had not.

The participants were asked to view the photos and rate each man based on presumed age, attractiveness, level of success and approachability. Not surprisingly, the men who had undergone hair transplant surgery received much higher scores than those who had not.

This study was performed by a team led by Dr. Lisa Ishii, who works in the division of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The findings were recorded in the August 25th online edition of JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

According to male age-related hair loss expert, Dr. Katy Burris, dermatologist at Northwell Health in Manhasset, NY, “This study further validates what we have known for some time; we know that most men feel more attractive when they have more hair, and it seems the observers in this study tended to agree”.Hair transplant surgery has grown greatly in popularity due to natural results patients are able to receive as well as the new methods and technology available today, such as NeoGraft and ARTAS. More than 11,000 hair transplants were performed on American men only in 2014. Studies, such as this, will likely lead to an increase in that number in the coming years.

While common and often highly successful, hair transplants can go wrong, as noted by hair transplant specialist, Dr. Jeffrey Epstein in Miami.

“It is imperative that this work be done aesthetically, since there are few plastic surgery procedures results more obvious (and more ridiculed) than an unnatural-appearing hair transplant,” he said.

In addition, many men do just fine with a bald head. “As comedian Larry David…who happens to be bald, reflected: ‘Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair. But a confident bald man – there’s your diamond in the rough,” Epstein concluded.